For some time, we have been studying human urinary-tract cancers (UTC) clinically and in the laboratory. Bacause no animal develops spontaneous UTC like those occurring in man, we needed lines of cells derived from UTC that could be grown indefinitely in the laboratory. We have obtained 11 such lines from 54 surgical specimens and thus have been more successful than any other laboratory in this exacting effort. Growth patterns, chromosome abnormalities, and other aspects of these cells are now being studied. We are comparing UTC surgical specimens and normal urinary-tract cells by electron microscopy to see how the structure of neoplastic cells differs from that of the cells from which they arose. We will also examine how our cells change - or do not change - after months of living and multiplying in laboratory flasks. One of the things the electron microscope revealed in our cells was particles that, in many ways, resemble members of a group of viruses known to cause cancers in animals. By several different routes, we are attacking the question of whether these particles are indeed viruses and, if they are, whether they might have caused the tumors in which they reside. It is now apparent, from work in many laboratories, that many cancer patients form antibodies against their tumor cells, although we don't know what part these antibodies might play in the control of the neoplasm. We now have a refined technique for measuring such antibodies, and the early results of our clinical studies suggest that the test may help us detect recurrences, which are common in UTC, even before the tumor is clinically evident. Another study, this one using fluorescent antibodies, has recently been started in our laboratory, and we hope that it, too, may eventually help us improve the care we give our patients with UTC. Finally we have been trying to determine why cells of a particular kidney cancer called hypernephroma accumulate large amounts of cholesterol and related materials. The answer may provide a clue to the cause of this tumor. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES: Elliott, A.Y., Bronson, D.L., Fraley, E.E. and Stein, N.: Establishment and Characterization of Cell Lines from Human Transitional Cell Tumors of the Urinary Tract. Abstract. American Association of Cancer Research #390, 1975.